The present invention relates to a door hinge.
The use of a hinge made in accordance with this invention is particularly advantageous for connecting the door of a domestic appliance, especially a washing machine or dishwasher, to which this specification refers but without thereby restricting the scope of the invention.
In traditional washing machines or dishwashers, the door hinges consist of two separate elements, both of which usually have a box-shaped structure and which are kinematically linked to each other.
More specifically, one of the two box-shaped structures is fixed to one side of the washing machine or dishwasher opening, whilst the other is fixed to one edge of the door of the appliance which can thus be tilt opened with respect to the opening.
Between the box-shaped structures there is an operatively interposed lever, normally a rocker lever, which is pivoted to one of the two box-shaped structures and has a first arm that is rigidly linked to the other box-shaped structure.
The second arm of the lever, lying in the same plane as the first, is operated upon by elastic elements for controlling door opening. The elastic elements are housed in the box-shaped structure to which the lever is hinged. The purpose of the elastic elements is to enable the door first to turn rapidly in the opening direction through a predetermined angle and then, by opposing the downward force created by the weight of the door, to gradually slow down the rotational opening movement until the door reaches the fully open position.
In prior art hinges, the box-shaped structure on which the lever is pivoted has a rectangular slot that enables the lever to move all the way back into the box-shaped structure when the door is closed.
It has been found that when the washing machine or dishwasher is opened at the end of, or even during, a washing cycle, the steam that has formed inside it tends to condense in the box-shaped structure that houses the above mentioned elastic control elements. The steam easily finds its way into the box-shaped structure through the above mentioned slot, quickly cools and condenses inside the box-shaped structure.
The condensed steam collects in the box-shaped structure and facilitates the accumulation of dirt and grime around the elastic control elements, often leading to malfunctioning. This problem has been found not only in traditional washing machines or dishwashers, with front loading, but also in top-loading washing machines or dishwashers.